In Song Sung Blue, we meet Mike Sardina, a recovering alcoholic trying to turn his life around and make a name for himself as a musician, but who is stuck doing gimmicky sets at the fairgrounds in between an Elvis impersonator and a James Brown look-alike. As Mike threatens to walk from the gig, Claire, another … Continue reading SONG SUNG BLUE – Leaning In
In November of 2018 in Butte County, California, a combination of strong winds and poorly maintained electrical equipment sparked what would become the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. Loosely based on Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise, The Lost Bus chronicles the fire from the perspective of Kevin McKay, a school bus driver who is called … Continue reading THE LOST BUS – Into the Fire
Since its debut in 2003, Wicked has been one of the most enduringly popular stage musicals of the 21st century, and, for almost that long, the question of its adaptation to film was not so much “if,” but “when.” Finally, in the fall of 2024 Wicked: Part I arrived in cinemas where it defied not just gravity, but the … Continue reading WICKED: FOR GOOD – Feeling the Moment
If there’s anything one could glean from Guillermo del Toro’s work, it’s that he has an affection for monsters, and none more so than the creature that birthed the science fiction genre—Frankenstein’s monster. For the better part of 20 years, del Toro has talked about wanting to bring his take on Mary Shelley’s classic novel … Continue reading FRANKENSTEIN – Creating Emotion with the Camera
Fresh off the historic success of Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski took the approach to shooting vehicles in motion at incredibly fast speeds that was pioneered for that film and adapted it to a new form. F1 launches like a rocket from its very first moments, putting audiences in the driver’s seat of cars that can travel … Continue reading F1 – Prepared for Anything
What does it cost to be the greatest? That’s the question at the heart of HIM, the twisty new sports-horror film that dives into the dark heart of ruthless ambition and the parallels between America’s fascination with sports and religious practices. To get inside the psyche of Cam, the young pro-football hopeful at the center of … Continue reading HIM – Getting Into Character
Based on the stage musical adapted from Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally, Kiss of the Spider Woman contrasts the bleak reality of its principal characters against the romantic, Technicolor fantasy and spectacle of a movie musical from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Bill Condon’s film adaptation draws a starker line … Continue reading KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN – Classical Framing, Modern Techniques
As members of the radical revolutionary group, the French 75, Pat Calhoun and Perfidia Beverly Hills are no strangers to danger. Raiding immigrant detention centers, robbing banks, and planting bombs is all in a day’s work. But after Col. Steven J. Lockjaw develops a fetishistic fascination with Perfidia during a French 75 raid he begins … Continue reading ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Battle-Ready Operating
With 36 feature films since 2008 (not to mention numerous shorts, mini-series, and TV movies), it’s safe to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been something of a cultural force for the past decade-and-a-half. The downside, however, of such a successful run is that there is increasing risk of the product becoming stale. Thunderbolts*, in … Continue reading THUNDERBOLTS* – New Look, New Techniques, New Avengers
Nearly a decade after it began production, the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has reached its conclusion with a sixth season that is—true to form—morally murky and bubbling over with righteous anger. Camera Operator had the opportunity to talk with camera operators Brett Hurd, SOC, and Sarah Mulholland, SOC, about seeing this series, which has … Continue reading THE HANDMAID’S TALE – Filming a Revolution
David Daut 